Inner Voice

We often talk a lot about cleanliness in the West but hardly follow similar practices in our own country. We litter our surroundings as if it is a must. Despite dustbins around, we care not to make the simple and useful effort to use them. Rameshinder Singh Sandhu writes.

We often talk a lot about cleanliness in the West but hardly follow similar practices in our own country. We litter our surroundings as if it is a must. Despite dustbins around, we care not to make the simple and useful effort to use them.

The other day, I boarded a fully-packed bus to my village. I noticed my co-passenger was a small child with his mother. As he finished eating his banana, his mother advised him to throw away the banana cover out of the window. He followed the instructions but I felt bad and uneasy as it was not the right habit to throw unwanted things on the road. I felt if parents encouraged wrong acts, then it is obvious that children would follow.

When I reached the village and discussed this incident with my uncle, he narrated a similar story of a nearby village.

One day the villagers marched to the village Sarpanch’s residence to complain regarding the blocked drains in the village due to polythene bags.

The village Sarpanch took an instant action by getting all the drains cleaned on the same day. However, nearly after a month villagers reported the choking of drains again to the Sarpanch. He got bins placed at strategic places so that people can use them. Unfortunately, drains were choked again after a few weeks. We just do not want to use common sense.

Why should we term ourselves civilised and educated when we cannot even use our common sense. Other than cleanliness, there are many other issues. Water bodies such as rivers are openly polluted by industries that flow their toxic waste. No one checks this and this goes on.

Deforestation is rising everywhere to give birth to high buildings. No one thinks about green environment which alone can halt global warming. And yet we proudly call ourselves modern, educated and civilised. It has been rightly said, “Common sense is not so common”. Let us make it common and make our society a better place to live in. Let us prove nothing is impossible